The Amazing Pugsley…

25072012

My best Pugsley “Blue Steel” look…

With new tire and rim options available for Fatbikes I thought it would be interesting to outline some Pugsley configurations for different biking missions to illustrate how versatile this bike is becoming.

Pugsley 29er MTB

add in some 50mm Rabbit Hole rims

add in some 29er rubber from 2.1″ to 3″

run rigid with the stock fork

run a 29er suspension fork [up to ~2.5″ tires and steering geo will change a bit]

can run SS/FG or IGH no problem

Pugsley Bikepacking Rig and Touring Bike

add in some 50mm Rabbit Hole rims

add in some 29er rubber from 2.1″ to 3″

run rigid with the stock fork

for bikepacking use some 29er MTB rubber

for touring maybe some Schwalbe touring rubber

use soft bikepacking bags or racks and panniers or add trailer

Pugsley Commuter Bike

add in some 50mm Rabbit Hole rims

add in some 29er rubber from 2.1″ to 3″

run rigid with the stock fork

add rear rack and panniers

add fenders

Schwalbe Big Apple or Marathon tires

IGH would be great for low maintenance

Pugsley Fat Trail Bike

Marge Lite rims

Husker Du or Nate 4″ tires

rigid fork or a fat suspension fork when the come out for 2013

Pugsley Sand/Snow Machine

Rolling Darryl 82mm rims

Big Fat Larry 5″ tires

I would use an IGH for this type of riding

One Pugsley To Rule Them All!

buy Necromancer Pugs with 82mm rims

use stock Larry/Endo 4″ tires for bikepacking and general purpose rides

add in a set of Big Fat Larry 5″ tires for snow/sand

add in a set of Husker Du or Nate 4″ tires for trail riding

add in a set of Black Floyd 4″ smooth tires for commuting or touring use

FG front wheel lets you try out a fixed gear bike without having to invest in a new rig plus it’s dead reliable as a backup to your normal rear wheel

SS/SS Marge Lite wheels lets you build a very light Pugsley with two different gear ratios that are easily swappable

OMM racks are my favourite on the Pugs because they are light, bolt on easily despite the funky offset front and back – plus they are crazy strong

add some plastic velcro on mud deflectors to the downtube and seattube with your OMM racks and you have decent fender-esque mud protection with no extra weight and no way to damage them or clog up

look for fat bike compatible suspension forks in 2013 & 2014

Surly has released 5″ knobby tires that will likely work on the Pugs…not sure ho much benefit they will be over 4″ knobbies give flotation isn’t key for that sort of tire and knobbies weigh a ton as tires get bigger.

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9 responses

love my pugs and my fargo. the fargo gets the call for dirt road / mild single track… but i do want a ‘pure’ mountain bike for east coast single track / bike packing.

with the new rims i’ll likely be adding a set of wheels to my quiver. keep the build the same for 2×9 rear with a ss rear up front. run some 2.4 nevegals for a rigid ride. hell, maybe a husker up front and one of those new rims out back for a fat front.

its good to be fat these days, and while i eye a muk … the pugs is a workhorse and solid bike.

What’s the deal with wanting to add a new wheelset all the time? I’ve been running my Pug since I got it in May with the stock LM wheels and 2.4 Continental (MTN King front/Trail King rear) and have been ultra happy with the performance and the ability to use the bike as a daily commuter, trail bike, and all around runabout. I’ve never had an issue with peddle strike, even with my 175mm cranks and I am trying to be an adherent of the less is more principle. I can generally swap out rubber about as fast as swapping out an entire wheelset (Well, not really, but the extra four minutes is a good way to psych myself up for the upcoming ride.)

There is a dude right now who is touring from Alaska to the southwest on a Pugs with the LM wheels and 2.35 Big Apples, which is where I got the idea from. He loves it. And I have to agree.

So, sell me on the need to buy a new, 29’er wheelset. What advantages, in reality, would I see.

@Philbo – if you are happy with LM’s go for it! I really have no interest in you buying new wheels.

I wouldn’t want to run 60mm rubber on 65mm rims on my Pugs, but if it works for you awesome!

Where I live pedal strike is an issue with a Pugs on 4″ rubber and bigger wheels roll better over our terrain. I wouldn’t want a smaller diameter wheel on a Pugs. 29er rims would give me the option of a wide variety of skinnier tires without compromising the wheel diameter or running tires on rims wider than the tire.

25072012

cycle tramp(12:46:01) :

Been reading your great adventures with both the Pugsley and your Scandel, and you seem to have both rides pretty much sorted, so i got to wondering what internal gear hubs you use and the number of teeth on the sprocket and chainring..?

@cycle tramp – the Pugs uses an Alfine 8 32T x 23T and the Scandal uses an Alfine 11 32T x 23T. The Alfine 8 is battle proven and I can recommend it without reservation. The Alfine 11 needs another year or so of testing for me to feel as confident about it.

26072012

cycle tramp(11:29:48) :

Wait a sec’ i’ll just grab a pen…. lessee now, 32/23 gives a ratio of 1.39.. Blimey.. for a hub gear that’s really low.. and speaks volumes for the durability of the 8 speed.. some manufacturers ask users not to dip below 1.9.. My respect for the 8 speed grows.. first i heard that it got used in an around the world cycle tour, setting a world record.. and now this. Brilliant :~)